Susan M. Massarello, 50

August 30, 2002

Susan M. Massarello, 50, of Berwyn, a physical education teacher for mentally and physically disabled youths, died Saturday, Aug. 24, after an accident on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago. As a teacher in the AERO Special Education Cooperative, Ms. Massarello taught in 12 schools in the southwest suburbs. She aided regular gym teachers in adjusting their curricula to fit the needs of handicapped children and taught some children one-on-one. "She was full of energy," said Jim Duffy, AERO's director. "She was just very enthusiastic and very creative. She always had ideas about the kids, about what she could do for the kids. What most impressed me is she loved her job. If she had the opportunity she would have worked 12 months of the year." Ms. Massarello acquired a love of sports and exercise as a youth at the YMCA in La Grange, where she grew up, said her husband, Patrick DeJuilio. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master's in education and special recreation from the Aurora University, her husband said. "She was always involved with other kids, whether they be from her own family or someone she was teaching," said her nephew, David Hanke. In addition to her husband, she is survived by a stepdaughter, Jena DeJuilio; a stepson, Kyle DeJuilio; her mother, LaVerne Massarello; three sisters, Jeanne Biggs, Judith Hanke and Cynthia Massarello; and three brothers, John, James and Thomas Massarello. Services have been held.